Festival of Radiance
by Soniclink137
Summary: Within the Water Continent, the Festival of Radiance is celebrated during the Winter Solstice. Being that it's Light's first year as a Pokemon, and that he has never celebrated it before, Fennix wants to make this celebration the best she can for him.


Light woke up in the typical cold winter morning within the Expedition Society, shivering. While covering was placed on all entrances and windows within the building to help protect from the cold, Light still noticed the drop in temperature, especially at nights. The green coat he wore helped somewhat, but he started making a policy to sleep a bit closer to Fennix than he admitted he should. The Fire-type's natural heat helped make the nights more bearable.

With him finally awake, Light grabbed his bag that he kept under the window of the far wall and grabbed out a berry from it. Aspear Berry, the smooth green berry something he bought plenty of lately to help with the cold. Light placed that berry in front of Fennix and waited for a few seconds. As if on instinct, she sniffed the berry in front of her and her eyes opened wide. The berry disappeared a few seconds afterwards, Fennix smiling contentedly.

"Little sour," Fennix mused, "but could be worse. At least it isn't hard and dry."

Light shrugged. "It's what I got a bunch of."

Fennix soon got on her paws and stretched a little, while Light took this time to adjust his green scarf. He also placed his paw in his bag and quickly felt around for what items were inside. Once they were done, Fennix herself put a large smile on her face and her tail waged slightly.

"Alright Light, let's go!" Fennix cheered.

"Geez, is it just me, or have you been more energetic lately?" Light asked, a smile plastered on his face. "I didn't even know that was possible."

"Well duh, of course I am!" Fennix said in an 'isn't it obvious' sort of tone. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Light shrugged. "It's cold."

Fennix chuckled for a few seconds. "Fire-type, duh. Internal heat keeps me nice and warm all year long. So no, the cold doesn't matter. Besides, that also means that it's that time of the year."

"'That time?'" Light asked. He tilted his head and glanced at Fennix's face, trying to read her to see if he could figure out what she was saying.

Fennix just continued her mirth. "You'll see soon," she sang.

Light just rolled his eyes at that. "Alright. Fine. Let's head into the meeting room then. Best not to be late."

"Alright, sure."

With a spring in her step, Fennix bounced out of the room and towards the left, to the meeting area. Light followed behind her slowly, slow enough that another friend of his came out of her room. Lilac, looking sleepy-eyed, had on a red jacket and a pink headband that was slightly covered by her large ears on both sides. The headband was supposedly there to help protect the psychic organs in her ears from the cold, since her fur was too short to do so.

"Hello, Lilac," Light said cordially.

"Morning, Light," Lilac yawned. "I see winter isn't bothering you as much as it is me."

"I can't say it's not bothering me, but at the same time, I imagine it must be worse for you. Not used to having your fur so short during this time, are you?"

Lilac yawned once again. "I'll get used to it, but no. Most Pokémon who have fur gain a larger fur coat during the winter. It's natural for us. But part of our job requires us have short fur, so I'll live." Lilac attempted to open her eyes wider and look less tired in general, mostly succeeding. "Besides, not all of us have a Fire-type to snuggle with."

Light blushed and his mouth hang open. "I-I don't…"

Lilac smiled a soft smile. "Of course. I'm sure you don't." She stretched and walked past Light while he stood, frozen. "Anyways, shall we go?"

_Man, Lilac can be freighting sometimes, _Light thought, though then he remembered that she can hear his thoughts and quickly quieted those thoughts. He quickly tried to act like nothing was wrong before following behind her into the meeting room.

Within the room, everyone else was already there and waiting. Like Light and Lilac, there were many of them who needed winter jackets, but like Fennix, there were also a few who didn't. Those who had fur, like Dedenne, Buizel, Swirlix, and Ampharos were coats while those that didn't, like Mawile, Archen, and Jirachi, didn't. Also Amaranth, despite having fur (or at least Light thought it was fur, it looked like grass), didn't bother wearing anything either, potentially due to her small status. It was strange at first, as Light hadn't seen many Pokémon that wore clothes when he got here, but he understood the reasoning. The same with himself and Lilac, everyone who had fur were required to keep it short, so they couldn't naturally grow winter coats and had to deal with fake ones.

"Good morning, everyone," Ampharos introduced. "It's another blustery winter day, but I'm glad to see most of you are in good cheer. The winter will only get colder from here, but we will make it through. We're getting extra padding for the society soon to help keep in the warmth."

"Until then, hope we get jobs in the either the Grass or Sand Continents, right?" Light snarked.

Ampharos nodded. "If you wish. Though Light, I have a sort of pet project for Fennix to do at the Society today. So you'll be on your own for now."

Light tilted his head. His gaze went over Fennix, and she didn't seem at all surprised with what Ampharos said, which left Light more confused. However, Light knew asking wouldn't get him the answers he wanted, so he just shrugged it off.

"Sure thing, Chief. I don't mind."

"Think you'll make it just fine without me?" Fennix teased. "You know how lost you get without me being around."

Light chuckled. "Are you kidding? I'm more worried about you. Your liable to burn down the building if I'm not keeping an eye on you."

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Fennix huffed.

Light gave another quick laugh before he tightened his bag to his left side. "I guess I'll see you later then. Good luck with whatever you're doing. I'm heading down where its warm."

"See ya."

And with that, Light waved his fellow teammates off before heading out of the building on his own. As soon as he opened the door and left the building, he felt the cold winds slightly chill his bones. It was cloudy out, and lightly snowing to boot, and the snow was being slightly blown by the wind. Light watched as it fell, tightening his scarf a bit more to help secure the heat. Despite his shivering, though, Light smiled as he watched the fluffy white precipitation fall to the ground, and he stood there for a few seconds just watching. One he was content, though, Light continued on.

His first stop was Kangaskhan's café. On the way he passed by a few sights that made him feel slightly warm just watching. The children of Lively Town were having a large snowball fight in the streets, two forts being created while snow was flying between them. Kricketot, the town's singing instructor, had a small group of Pokémon together in the direction of the harbor, who were all singing songs that sounded rather cheerful to Light, even though he didn't recognize any of them. The streets themselves were lit up by red, green, and white lights dangling from polls making the town feel more festive.

Light walked his way into Kangaskhan's Café and sat in front of the counter. Kangaskan gave Murkrow a drink first, but she then turned to focus on Light. She smiled at him, and Light returned her smile. Though, as she turned to him, he noticed that her little cub wasn't in his usual pouch.

"Good morning, Light. Here for your winter usual?"

Light nodded. "Yes, I am, ma'am. One piping hot Yellow Gummy tea, please. Gonna need all the warmth I can on the boat ride to the Grass Continent."

Kangaskhan began fiddling under the counter to get Light's drink ready. "I did notice that you were alone today. What's Fennix up to? Avoiding trouble, I hope."

"I'd hope so too," Light chuckled. "Ampharos has some project for her back at the Expedition Society, so she's helping out with that for the week. So I decided to head to the Grass Continent, since anything I do there will probably take me somewhere between half a week, to a week." Light shrugged. "But I'll be fine. Unlike last time I went off on my own, I know she's here and that she's fine. And they apparently want to surprise me with something."

"That's a mature way of thinking about it."

As Kangaskhan was still busy preparing Light's drink, he decided to continue with small talk. "So, where's the little girl at?"

"She's out joining in the snowball fight." There was a small sense of disappointment in her voice. "I'm sure you noticed it on your way in?"

"Yeah, I did," Light laughed. "Nearly got pelted by one as well. They're certainly making traveling across town…interesting."

Kangaskhan sighed. "School's off for the week, so they're just having fun while they can. I did the same when I was young." Finishing with Light's drink, Kangaskhan passed it to him. "Anyways, enjoy your drink and good luck on whatever mission you decide to do."

"Thanks ma'am." Light grabbed the drink and got up from his seat. "See you later then."

"Bye."

* * *

Fennix waited by the entrance of the Expedition Society with baited breath. From there, she watched Light walk off, but she couldn't see whether he left anywhere or not. She had to wait for Lilac, who had her eyes closed, to tell her they were in the clear.

Of course, Fennix was never the patient type, so she immediately asked, "Is he gone yet?"

"He got his drink and is heading to Lapras right now," Lilac stated slowly and calmly. "He should be gone in just a minute."

So Fennix waited, pulling in whatever amount of patience she had while everyone else in the building remained calm. What felt like an eternity later, but was actually only a few minutes, Lilac opened her eyes and confirmed that the pikachu had left the harbor. Fennix breathed her relief immediately after hearing the news in the calm way she usually did.

"Finally! Took him long enough!"

Ampharos nodded. "Indeed. Now, we can begin the most important mission the Expedition Society has ever done."

Fennix jumped and a large smile appeared on her face. "Operation: Let's make Light's first Festival of Radiance in this world the best day of his life is go!"

Ampharos nodded. "As you were the one who suggested this in the first place, Fennix, I give you full authority to lead us…"

"As terrifying of a thought that is," Lilac mumbled in the background, though she still had a curious smile on her face.

Ampharos posed and continued as if he didn't hear Lilac. "Therefore, direct us as you may, so we can make your friend's day great!"

Fennix closed her eye and took a deep breath. When she opened them back, she had an intense and focused expression on her face, one that mirrored what her partner would do when in a battle. This was her moment, and she was going to take this with all the seriousness she could.

"Swirlix, make your best feast you can possibly make! And don't eat it all, too!"

"I'll do the former, I make no promises on the later," Swirlix answered, some drool running down her face at the thought of cooking.

"Mawile, Dedenne, supervise Swirlix to make sure she doesn't eat it all!"

Dedenne rolled her eyes. "I suppose somebody has to," she mumbled.

"Lilac, what's the status on the rest of our friends from Serene Village?" Fennix asked, turning to her first.

"I already sent the message to them," Lilac answered. "They should be here within two or three days. Depends on which adult is supervising them. I tried to get Nuzleaf to come as well, but I only got an 'I'll think about it' from him, unfortunately."

Fennix huffed. "If he doesn't get over here, then I'll head to Serene Village and drag him! This is too important for him not to come just because things are still awkward between him and Light!"

Lilac shrugged. "I'll try and persuade him the best I can, but he feels just as guilty around me. Maybe sending Amaranth at him will help."

"Alright, Amaranth! Your good at chewing Pokémon out and getting them to do what you want!"

Amaranth rolled her eyes and sighed. "I'm a doctor, not a psychologist. I'll do what I can, but I make no promises."

"Good!" Fennix walked to Buizel and Archen. "Buizel, Archen! Whichever of you can get to the Grass Continent fastest, go to the Mystery Forest and bring Mew over here!"

Buizel punched his flippers together. "Yeah! Let's make it a competition! First one to the Mystery Forest wins."

"She said 'which,' not both," Archen groaned.

"If it gets either one of you over there faster, I don't really care which of you goes!" Fennix said. "Now chop chop! Light might head over there before you if you don't go!"

"Do we know what Light's planning on doing in the Grass Continent?" Mawile asked.

"He's going to head to Capin Town and see if he can find any missions to go on from there," Lilac answered, her eyes closed as she scanned for him. "He doesn't even know where he plans to go from there, so I'll have to update you when he decides. But if you use the Treasure Town port, you should be able to avoid him."

"Let's be honest, though," Dedenne said, "Light probably already has some idea of what's going on."

Lilac opened her eyes and nodded. "Oh, no doubt. He knows _something_ is going on. And he knows we're trying to surprise him. But he doesn't know 'what' we're doing, at least. He doesn't know about the Festival of Radiance yet. And he, luckily, won't learn about it from the Grass Continent, since it's summer there. So he'll be ignorant until he takes the trip back. Which, if our timing is right, should be the day of the festival."

Fennix nodded. "Good. Keep an eye on him! If we're lucky, we can get everything in place!"

* * *

A few days had passed before the first guest came in. Fennix was expecting it to be the kids from Serene Village, but instead, as she waited outside, a pink Pokémon came flying in her direction from the dock.

"Fennix!" Mew called as he came closer.

"Mew!" Fennix cheered back, waving her right paw. "Been a while, hasn't it?" Mew finished his approach and they both slapped their tails together.

"Yeah, it has! How's Light been on his adventures lately?"

"Oh, the usual worrywart," Fennix shrugged. "But we've done lots of neat exploring! I can't wait to tell you about some of the fun times we've had!"

"Can't wait to hear it." Mew's expression turned prideful and he clenched his paws. "Bet I was still more helpful when I explored with him, though."

Fennix stomped her paw. "And I bet I'm ten times the better partner than you were. Don't forget, I'm Mew too, and I've been exploring with him longer."

"You wanna prove it?" Mew asked.

Fennix nodded before jumping side to side. "Yep! You won't beat me this time! I've been exploring a lot since we last met, and I'm a ton stronger!"

"Then let's go to the battle arena!" Mew cheered, doing flips in the air. "I wanna see how strong you are!"

"Have you two forgotten what you're here for?" Lilac sighed, turning Mew and Fennix's attention towards her.

Mew examined Lilac for a few seconds, a curious expression on his face. "You…you're…from Light's village, right?"

Lilac nodded and smiled. "Yep. I'm the same Espurr from there. It's nice to see you again, Mew."

Mew rushed towards her, grabbed her right paw, and shook it wildly, nearly knocking Lilac off balance. "Nice to see you again, too! It's been what, half a year?"

"Y-y-y-y-yeah."

Mew eventually went back towards Fennix's side, oblivious as to how shaken up Lilac was from his actions. "So, why'd you bring me here anyways? I don't see Light anywhere."

"We're surprising Light!" Fennix exclaimed excitedly.

"Surprising him? Cool!" Mew did a backflip in the air. "What are we surprising him with?"

"Well, here in the Water Continent, we celebrate the Festival of Radiance during the Winter Solstice in a few days," Lilac explained. "The day is in reminder a legend where the great hero Mila was said to have defeated the Shades and helped turn the Water Continent into the abundant land it is now, instead of a boggy wasteland."

"Cool, cool." Mew nodded. "But who's Mila? And what are Shades?"

"Geez Mew, you're more ignorant than Light!" Fennix chuckled, a large smile on her face.

"It's nothing really more than a legend," Lilac explained. "We have no proof that any person named 'Mila' actually existed and Shades only exist in fairy tales. And Mawile personally doubts the authenticity of the legend. But basically, Shades are Pokémon who closed their hearts off from the world so much that they turned into dark, angry, and bitter versions of themselves. They become extremely powerful, but also extremely feral and monstrous too. And that description is why Mawile doubts the authenticity of the story."

"Really?" Mew asked. "Why?"

"Well, you weren't around for it, but the description of Shades sounds suspiciously like the description of Pokémon who fell under the influence of Dark Matter. Mawile suspects that the legend of Mila is really nothing more than a distorted tale from the time when Dark Matter first tried to destroy the world. She could have been a number of Pokémon from there, maybe Mew, maybe one of Mew's allies, we don't know. Her current bets are either Mew or Puriah."

"But that's boring, so let's celebrate it anyways!" Fennix finished. "Anyways, this is an important celebration in the Water Continent, and since this is Light's first time, I decided I wanted to make it special for him! We're supposed to exchange gifts and everything and it's such a fun time! Back before I met Light, even Pancham was decent around that time!"

"Sounds fun! I'm in!" Mew said. "Let's make this Festival of Radiance thingie a big success for Light!"

Lilac tilted her head in confusion. "I'm curious, though. Why didn't Archen or Buizel tell you this when they came to get you?"

"Oh, Buizel just mentioned something about Light needing me in the Water Continent and I sorta just teleported here from there," Mew unashamedly admitted. "Didn't really pay attention to what he said after that."

"Wow, those two are really similar," Lilac mumbled, a smirk on her face. Louder, she said, "Well, we're still in the process of setting up for the event right now. But feel free to help us out."

"Sure, anything for Light!" Mew's eyes quickly widened in realization. "Wait, we're supposed to be getting presents, right? Then that means I need to get some presents too! Fennix, I need some money!"

Fennix nodded towards the Deposit Box. "Feel free to take whatever you need. I already got my presents."

"Will Light be fine with that?"

Fennix smiled. "Of course he will!"

"So long as nobody tells him?" Lilac asked, a knowing smile on her face.

"I'm fine with that!" Mew said.

"Of course you would."

* * *

As Fennix learned rather quickly the next day, it was her father, Carracosta, who brought in the rest of the Serene Village children. Her father, who had been keeping a family legacy where they kept information about the ancient past, and more specifically about Mew, Light, and the friends they had. Fennix looked forward to hearing his stories about her past life. But before any of that could happen, she noticed Amaranth also coming along with the rest of them. And she was alone.

While she did enjoy reuniting with her father once again, she couldn't hide how miffed she was that Nuzleaf wasn't around. Something she took to the rest of the Expedition Society while the rest of the kids from Serene Village were checking into an inn.

"Of course Nuzleaf wouldn't come!" Fennix growled, steam coming from her ears. "Of course! He just has to feel too guilty. Amaranth, why didn't you convince him to come?!"

Amaranth closed her eyes and calmly took a deep breath. "I warned you, didn't I? I am a doctor, not a psychologist. For better or worse, I can't force someone to do anything. This Nuzleaf doesn't know me and, despite possible similarities in our situations, has no reason to really listen to me. I'm not close enough to either him or Light to be able to convince him."

Fennix growled some more, but she knew from history that arguing with Amaranth wasn't easy. "Then what do we do to get him here?"

"If you want my honest opinion, nothing short of Light himself asking will bring him over here," Amaranth answered. "And naturally, you don't want that. So at this point in time, I would banish any thoughts of bringing Nuzleaf here."

"B-but…"

Lilac stepped forward and put a paw on Fennix's shoulder. "Fennix, do you really think that bringing in Nuzleaf is necessary for Light's enjoyment?"

"No, but I know Light's gonna be disappointed if everyone else comes here, but Nuzleaf isn't. And I want those two to stop feeling so uncomfortable around each other. Especially around this time."

"…Watcha guys talking about?"

Upon hearing the voice, Fennix turned back and everyone else turned their attention towards where the sound came from. Floating at the entrance of the building was Mew, wearing a small red cap and levitating several wrapped gifts behind him. He was looking over the proceedings with a curious expression.

"How…how heavy is all that stuff that you're levitating?" Lilac asked, her mouth open wide at the sight.

Mew shrugged. "Ehh…about 200 pounds, I think? I dunno; didn't weigh it. Is there a good place to put this, by the way, or should I just teleport it back to the Mystery Jungle until the Festival of Radiance begins?"

While Lilac was flabbergasted, Mawile calmly answered him. "We're placing most of our presents in the kitchen, if you would like to use that. We plan on opening everything after the evening feast."

"Alright, cool!"

Mew quickly floated himself and all his presents inside the room before coming back out once again. "So, what were you talking about again?"

"We're talking about Nuzleaf," Fennix answered. "I want him over here during the Festival of Radiance for Light's sake. But Nuzleaf doesn't want to come because he thinks he'll 'ruin Light's fun.'"

"Those two are still really awkward around each other, huh?" Mew asked. However, he soon smiled. "Well okay! I'll teleport to Light's village right away and bring over Nuzleaf, no problem!"

And without another word, a bright light surrounded Mew for a second before he blinked out of there.

Lilac sighed. "Man, Mew's psychic power is on a whole other level."

"I see why he and Fennix are always compared with each other," Amaranth groaned.

Fennix turned to Lilac after staring at the spot Mew disappeared for a few seconds. "Do you think Mew can get Nuzleaf over here?"

"Mew can certainly try," Lilac shrugged. "I think he has the best chance out of all of us, in any case. But I'd still be ready for the possibility that he might not be able to convince Nuzleaf."

Fennix sighed. She walked in the direction of the western hallway, staring in that direction. One more day and Light would return home from his trip. One more day and they would be celebrating the Festival of Radiance. As little as she liked it, Fennix knew the possibility was high that Nuzleaf wouldn't come.

"Alright, guys," Fennix mumbled. She turned back to face the rest of the Expedition Society. "I guess we'll have to make tomorrow great for Light, even without Nuzleaf coming here. Is everything else ready?" Everyone else nodded. "Good. Then let's do it!"

* * *

The week had passed rather uneventfully for Light. He went to Baram Town and did a few missions for the Pokémon in town, but he made sure that the missions he took weren't too difficult. The only major spot of difficulty was this one cavern he explored where he pressed a gem and got launched by a torrent of water. Luckily, he landed in some hot springs, and everything was fine. Still returned to Baram Town with a couple of bruises.

But Light got back on Lapras the afternoon before to get to Lively Town in the morning. There, once he reached the pier, he saw both Lilac and Fennix waiting for him. Not only that, but the rest of the kids from Serene Village were waiting for him. Deerling, Goomy, Panchan, and Shelmet. Light tilted his head as he looked over the group.

"Everyone?" Light asked. "What are you all doing here?"

Pancham boisterously laughed. "Wow, he really IS ignorant!"

Deerling gave him a quick kick in his stomach with her hind leg, causing his breath to whoosh out of his mouth. "Don't tease him. It's not like he can help it. You'd be in the same place if you were a human."

"Plus, Fennix wanted it to be a surprise for him," Goomy pointed out.

"To make a long story short, today is the Water Continent's Festival of Radiance," Fennix said, cheer in her voice as she spoke about it. "It's this really awesome time where kids don't have to go to school, we get to have this really large feast, everyone celebrates it with each other, and we all exchange gifts at the end."

"And we have no other cultural reasons for it, at all," Lilac snarked, a smile on her face. "But that's beside the point. It is a time to have fun with family and friends. Including those you don't see that often. Which is why Fennix planned for everyone to be here."

Light gave his partner a soft smile. "Well, thanks, Fennix! So…what exactly do we do today?"

"Well, normally, you could listen to the Pokémon singing in the streets or head to Kangaskhan's Café for a nice hot drink. The shops usually have some nice stuff to look at, too. But Fennix found something else for you to do. You're going to take part in the annual Festival of Radiance play."

"The…play?" Light asked. He took a step back and put his paws out. "Wait wait wait wait, what?! I'm supposed to be taking part in a play about a festival I just learned about today?"

Fennix chuckled. "Don't worry. You don't have any lines. All you need to do is fight with me. After all, the battle against the Shades is the most important part of the play." Fennix stepped forward, looking proud of herself with her eyes closed and her snout lifted high. "I'll be the one playing the part of the great hero Mila, so I'm the one who has the lines!"

"You, acting?" Light asked. "Alright, this should be interesting, then. So, to Meowth's Theater, then?"

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm an amazing actor!" Fennix stomped.

"Actress, technically, and…uhh…alright…" Light glanced past Fennix and noticed that Pancham and Shelmet were both chuckling, Deerling and Goomy had a pained expression on their faces, while Lilac kept her face neutral.

"_Lilac, do I want to know?"_ Light telepathically asked her.

"_Umm…you'll figure it out very soon," _Lilac responded. "_If it makes you feel any better, I'm also joining you in the play. But you might hear a snicker or two from the audience._"

Light could only imagine by her response exactly what would befall him in the theater.

* * *

He soon understood exactly what Lilac was talking about. They all quickly reached Meowth's Theater, Light, Fennix, and Lilac all heading towards the backstage, where they exchanged their winter gear for some costumes. Light's only costume was this strange silver hat with feathers on it that was supposed to look like a helmet, though it was clearly made of cloth instead of metal. Lilac wore a silver robe. Finally, Fennix had on a red magician's cap and adorned a red cape over her back. Both Light and Fennix were allowed to wear their Harmony Scarves as they typically did, Fennix's scarf intermingling with her cape.

With the costumes on, the show soon started. The set itself seemed to be a destroyed town. Burnt wood was scattered around and the backdrop was a fiery orange. They were set alone for now, as their opponents, the 'Shades' that Fennix mentioned, would come in later. There, Fennix started 'acting.'

"…Verily, behold my trusty companions!" Fennix yelled in such a loud and awkward tone, her words and voice clearly not fitting together. Light nearly got knocked off balance when hearing that. "It seems our…dastardly and excitable protagonists, those vile Shades whoms work had…dreadfully caused this village to collapse, are nearby!"

Light had half a mind to correct her grammar, point out many areas she should have paused for clarity, and question how many of those words she actually knew the meaning of, but his part wasn't to speak, and he tried as hard as he could to keep a straight face. Everyone they knew was watching, though, and Light could feel his face heat up. At least he knew that, when the fighting started, that would be the easy part. They were told to fight as they usually did, so long as neither side knocked the other out.

"My uhh...true companions of great virtue, we must…scavenge forth and find our true foes of great…disvirtue! And teach them a lesson they will never forget!"

"_Fennix forgot all of her lines, didn't she?"_ Light telepathically asked Lilac, trying as best as he could to avoid any notice of it.

"_Yep. And she's too proud to let me feed them to her."_

"_Great," _Light mentally groaned. "_How much longer is this going to go on?"_

"_Just try and hold out until you see the 'Shades' coming'," _Lilac suggested.

So amid the comical overacting, Fennix's attempt to carry the plot, and the crowd's inability to take it seriously, Light stayed as stoically strong as he could. And after what felt like forever and a half, when Light was just about unable to take it anymore, finally their opponents walked onto the stage.

They were all Pokémon who lived in Lively Town. Their leader was Meinfoo, the town's combat instructor. The second Pokémon was Krokodile, who worked with Krokorok to deliver milk under Miltank. And the third was Murkrow, the town gossip, to which Light was surprised.

"_Can Murkrow even fight?_" Light asked.

"_Possibly? I've never seen her fight, but that doesn't mean she can't. We know for sure Krokodile can, and it'd be a pretty good guess that Meinfoo can. She might just playact while the rest of us fight, who knows. Not that it really matters, the fight is for show anyways."_

"Great hero Mila!" called Meinfoo. "This world belongs to us Shades. Our anger and hatred has given us power beyond yours! Accept your fate and give up!"

"I refuse!" Fennix yelled back, stomping her paw as she did so. "We will win this competition and…and…bring back the…world to…goodness."

Meinfoo's 'evil' façade broke as he nearly tripped over himself. "Seriously, that's what you're going with?" he whispered.

"Y-yeah, that works, right?" Fennix whispered back.

"You're not even close. And speaking in a dialect years before this play. Did you forget all your lines?"

Light groaned. "Let's just…get to the part where we fight."

"B-but I have an entire soliloquy to do explaining my motivations," Meinfoo whispered, his face disappointed. "It was supposed to be an emotional moment that connected our hero and villain."

"Honestly, we've already lost the audience," Lilac bluntly cut in. "Let's just get to the battle and get things over with."

"F-fine."

Meinfoo signaled to the rest of his teammates and the fight finally began. As Meinfoo was the closest, and was focusing his attack on Fennix, Light decided to strike first. He placed a paw on the ground and poured his energy into it, a small vine coming up from the ground and wrapping around the meinfoo's paw. This caused the meinfoo to trip and fall to the ground, just in time for Fennix to launch a Psybeam at him. Krokodile and Murkrow both managed to fly in front of him and nullify the Psybeam, though, keeping him from further harm.

"_Lilac, Charge Beam,_" Light telepathically commanded.

Light felt the electricity building up behind him and soon saw a yellow beam of electrical energy fly towards Murkrow. Of course, Krokodile got in front of the blast and blocked it with his own body, his arms out wide. Light smiled as he saw that before rushing forward, his arms glowing white. He hit Krokodile in the stomach with Brick Break and, while he was reeling from the attack, uppercut him in the chin and sent him back.

Murkrow and Meinfoo both attempted to attack Light while he was close, Murkrow coming from the right with Steel Wing while Meinfoo came from the left with Drain Punch, but Light managed to make a short hop back, so the two attacks missed. And when Murkrow continued her attack by attempting to jab at Light with her wing, Light prepared an Iron Tail and clashed his tail against her wing. Sparks flew, but neither had the advantage in that clash.

"_Huh, these guys were actually well put together,"_ Lilac telepathically mused. "_Two Dark-types to counter me and protect the one I'm strong against, a Ground-type to block any electricity we could throw at the Flying-type. Only Fennix stands on neutral ground, and even then, she's weak to Ground as well. I wonder if they were all picked, less because of their acting skills, and more because they're the best to put up a fight against us."_

Light was too focused on the clash to respond. He shifted his tail slightly to pin Murkrow's wing down, before using his tail as a springboard to hop into the air. As he did, searing flames came barreling below him, the results of a Flamethrower from Fennix. As Light looked down towards the both of them, he saw that Krororok and Meinfoo were targeting Fennix with their attacks, but were stopped dead in their tracks by a piercing sound coming from Lilac, her Disarming Voice allowing Fennix to get her Flamethrower off. Light smiled as he landed back on the ground after the Flamethrower came through and followed up with a Thunderpunch on Murkrow, who was still reeling from the sudden flames. The punch connected and sent her flying into Meinfoo, sending both of them back.

Unfortunately, by this point in time, Krokodile was able to break free of the Disarming Voice and immediately rushed towards the Pokémon emitting it. Lilac wasn't fast enough to get away before she got slashed in the chest by a powerful Night Slash before being knocked back. Light and Fennix both ran for Krokodile, only to get a tail wreathed in darkness slamming both of them back. Light tumbled and slid across the ground on his stomach for a second before he stopped.

_H-he's really powerful!_ Light thought as he got up. He also saw Fennix getting up, but she was also unsteady on her four paws. On the other side of the field, Lilac too standing, but she clutched her chest in pain as she did so. _No wonder the Expedition Society never messed with him._

"Ha!" Krokodile called. "Would you look at that! Did you think, young Mila, that we Shades would be easy to beat? You had us on a rope, but our carnage will never stop! We will continue to control this continent, and there's not a thing you can do to stop us!"

Meinfoo began to stand up as well. While Murkrow was down for the count, he was able to endure the attack and moved to his 'ally's' side. Once there, he began to speak to the crowd as well.

"Long have I waited for this day! For many years, you Pokémon tormented us. You judged us! You attacked us without warning! You crushed us underneath you without a second thought! You never gave us a chance to be who we wanted to be! Well, how does it feel now? How does it feel to be crushed under us, to be beaten and broken?"

Fennix's eyes widened. "Wait, I actually know these lines!"

Quickly, Fennix approached the two Pokémon. "Is that what this is all about?"

"What are you talking about, 'is that what this is all about?!'" Meinfoo snapped back, his face showing genuine rage. "You could never understand the pain we've gone through! And what's with the dropped dialect all of a sudden."

"Uhh…" For the first time, Fennix glanced at Light for help.

Light, of course, was only given a quick read through of the script and characters, so while he didn't really know any of the lines, he at least had an idea of how to answer the improvised question. "My friend here tries her hardest to seem regal, to lead and inspire all of us. So that's why she attempted to speak the way she did."

Fennix nodded, mouthing her quick thanks before she turned back to Meinfoo. "Are you sure I couldn't understand your pain? Actually, I think out of everyone else in this room, I understand it the most."

Fennix took a step forward, and as she did, her coat had a notable change in its sheen. "I was born the runt in a royal family. I had no foresight, no powers to speak of, nothing. So I was looked down by the court constantly. The wouldn't say it to my face, but I heard it constantly behind my back. Everyone had high expectations for me to be the next leader of this continent, and I was shaping up to be a failure. It was to the point where I couldn't look my parents in the face."

"Oh boo hoo, the rich kid who was waited on hand and foot didn't live up to the court's expectations! So what, brat? At least you had a warm bed, plenty of food to eat. Whereas we had to sleep out in the cold and were spat on by society. And look where you are now, living high and fancy with your crew. You don't know what it's like to live out there-"

"Except for I ran away," Fennix interrupted. "If I was to be a failure, if I couldn't live up to everyone's expectations of me, then I knew it'd be best for me to leave. So I do know what it's like to live on the streets. To have others hate me and spit on me. But do you want to know what I did? I moved on."

Fennix took another step forward. "Out there, I ended up in hard labor, working to grow food that I would never eat. But I did it anyways. I worked day in and day out, never complaining. And being out there taught me what the Pokémon in the streets valued. Honesty. Hard working. Reliability. I gained all those values in the field. And I made some friends."

Fennix waved towards both Light and Lilac, her coat almost glowing at this point. "My friends here aren't nobles. They were born on the streets just like you. And they looked down on me like everyone else in the farmhouse did. But as we worked together day in and day out, from the crack of dawn to night, and as they saw how hard working I was, do you want to know what they did? They eventually befriended me. They're not standing by my side out of obligation. They're here now because we're genuinely friends. After learning all that, I returned back to my father's side in the castle. I returned back to my position and began working hard for the Pokémon on the streets, easing their life in whatever way I can. I still don't have the power of foresight my family had for generations and probably never will. But Pokémon follow me because I proved myself to them."

Fennix lowered her forelegs, getting ready to pounce. "Now, let me show you just what that loyalty has brought. Everyone! Attack!"

Light smirked. While the others, and probably the audience, were busy watching the mid-battle conversation (that probably would have never happened in a real fight, but this was a performance), Light noticed her coat glowing brighter and brighter as she took in sunlight. While the conversation was happening, Fennix was getting ready a Solarbeam. Krokodile seemed to also notice this, as he immediately began rushing towards Fennix. However, Light wasn't about to let that happen. So he put his paw towards the ground and summoned another vine to wrap around his foot, tripping him and halting his movement. He pulled and tugged to break free, but it was already too late. Fennix launched her blast before he could do anything about it. And from behind Meinfoo, Lilac launched a Psybeam. The two attacks enveloped both Pokémon before colliding in the center. The collision caused a massive explosion of energy, one so powerful Light had to brace himself to keep it from pushing him back. And when the explosion dissipated, Meinfoo and Korokdile were both still standing, but injured to the point where they would have difficulty continuing fighting.

Fennix approached them. "Last chance. I don't want to have to lock you up. As I said before, I understand how you feel. So please, give up your ways. With hard work, you can make up for all the damage you created and all the lives you ruined. Then, there might be a few Pokémon who can trust you."

Meinfoo glanced at her, pained and bruised. Fennix gave him a soft smile before extending her paw out. However, rather than taking her paw, Meinfoo rushed forward and slammed her back with his fist, sending her quite a distance back. Light and Lilac responded in kind, using a Brick Break to knock Krokodile out and a Psybeam to knock out Meinfoo. Once they were taken out, Light rushed back to his companion.

"Miss Mila. Are you okay?" he asked as he reached out a paw for her.

Fennix coughed a few times before looking up at him. "I'm…sorry."

"Don't be." Light began helping her back up, completely forgetting that this wasn't part of the script either. "They were already Shades. You knew this. You did all you could."

Lilac walked to her side too. "You did all you could. You gave them a chance. Don't feel too guilty. For now, we've got more important things to do. Once they're behind bars where they belong, we've got our own reconstruction effort."

Fennix nodded. Once she got up, she unsteadily walked to the front of the stage. "Y-you're right. We need to work to fix up this land. To make sure another tragedy like those Pokémon never happen again. I swear, I'll make sure the Pokémon on the streets will never have to feel like those three felt ever again."

The crowd clapped and cheered for a few moments before the curtain eventually fell, officially ending the play.

* * *

With the play over, the feast inside the Expedition Society's kitchen was next. For the most part, the table wasn't large enough for the entire town. But it was large enough for the Expedition Society, the kids from Serene Village, and Carracosta. So they all ate and laughed, the play the main thing on everyone's mind.

"Geez Fennix, your acting was terrible!" Pancham teased while he gorged himself on some cake.

"It was not!" Fennix sniped back from across the short side of the table.

"It was…a little at the beginning," Deerling admitted. "But that one scene you had in the middle of the fight was really good."

"Guess you're good at fighting and not much else!" Shelmet concurred.

Deerling glared at both Shelmet and Pancham. "Oh would you two stop!"

Pancham rubbed his head. "S-sorry. Deerling's right. You didn't do too bad out there. And your fight was really awesome. You sure outclassed the rest of us in a hurry."

Mawile slathered some butter on a roll before eating it. "True," she said when she was done. "Though a scene in the middle of battle like that is unlikely. They probably wouldn't gloat like that unless they knew you were defeated." She passed a glance at the 'Shades' who were all eating together.

Meinfoo flinched. "H-hey, I wanted that monologue. I worked hard to practice it, only to lose it because someone forgot her lines."

"I did not!" Fennix countered back.

"Did too," answered the rest of the Serene Village children, except for Light.

"Ah, but the improve you guys did was splendid!" Ampharos cheered while he drank merrily. "I was quite amazed at how you managed to fit that scene! And the ending was almost better than usual."

"Yeah, I'll give her that," Goomy said. "I really liked it once the fight started. It was a little…embarrassing at first, but once you guys started fighting, I got into it."

"That seemed to be how most of the audience reacted," Carracosta said. "For what it was, you all did good. I'm proud of you, Fennix."

Fennix blushed and had a soft smile on her face. "Th-thanks Pops."

However, Carracosta soon glared at her. "But next time, practice your lines better! You should have had those lines memorized and prepared long before you stepped foot on that stage! You know better than this Fennix! Why, back when I was your age, the children who would perform the event would-"

"Save the rant, Mr. Carracosta," Lilac interrupted. "I think she gets it."

The focus of the conversation eventually shifted to the battle, which Light wasn't particularly interested in talking about. So he tuned them out and continued eating his meal. As he did, he had a look around the table once again. Everyone was there, eating or chatting or both. Even Amaranth was there, though she kept to herself. Everyone…except one Pokémon. Light couldn't pretend to himself that he was shocked, he didn't expect to see that one Pokémon anywhere. But he let disappointment take him all the same.

Eventually, though, Light felt a tap on the back of his shoulder. As he looked over, he noticed that Mew was floating up there. Light nearly choked on his food as he saw that.

"M-Mew!" Light yelled. "When did you get here?!"

"The entire time!" Mew answered. "I'm starving!"

"Well the seat next to me is open." Light shrugged to his left side as an indicator. "You can go ahead and eat there."

"Neat!" With no other prompting, Mew immediately plopped down next to Light, levitated a plate and as much food as could fit on it, before devouring it like a starving animal. Light chuckled as he saw that, noticing that Mew's appetite hadn't changed since they last traveled together.

However, as Light ate, he couldn't help but notice that Fennix was trying desperately to get Mew's gaze. Mew was completely oblivious to her attempts, but Fennix actually focused more on him and less on her food. Light noticed this phenomenon but wasn't quite sure what she was trying to say.

Whatever it was, though, she wasn't able to get it out during dinner, as Mew was too focused on his meal. Eventually, with a groan, Fennix decided to focus on her own meal as well. And with those two done, Light had no choice but continue his own meal with no answers as to what Fennix wanted to say.

Eventually, though, the meal winded down and all the food was eaten (most of it thanks to Mew's bottomless stomach). And after that, it was time to hand out gifts. The gifts were being stored below the cupboards on the east side of the kitchen and were passed out accordingly to everybody.

"I wish I knew about this before, though," Light said as he sat with his large pile of gifts. "I would have tried to get you all something."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Lilac responded. "One of the few good things about being a kid, we're not really supposed to. Which is why you're not going to see a gift from anybody of the kids there."

Light glanced at her before looking at three of his gifts, one from Fennix, one from Lilac, and another from Mew. While she wasn't wrong that he had nothing else from any of the children, he still gave Lilac a look when he pointed those out.

Lilac just shrugged. "This is your first year. So Fennix wanted you to relax and have fun. You can worry about what to buy us next year. Besides." Lilac waved her arm, where the bracelet they found on one of their adventures lay snug against her arm. "You did sort of already give me something. And you brought Fennix back to life. You did enough for this year." She gave him a wide smile. "Next year, I expect something amazing from you, though."

"You're on," Light responded.

With that in mind, Light decided to open up his presents. From Lilac, he got a book on the various organizations in the world and how they changed over time; something to help integrate himself into the world and its history better. From Fennix, he got a cleaning kit for his scarf, something that he noticed Fennix got as well. It was times like this that he missed having an invisible scarf like their old ones, but he was glad for the upkeep on it. From Mew, he got a ton of stuff. Looplets, Wands, weapons, and even an assortment of berries. Light had half an idea of where he got that stuff from, but he decided not to ask.

He noticed Fennix got a translator for the current language they spoke and the ancient language, handwritten by her. From Ampharos they both got Looplets that they were told was very rare. Buizel bought them both more weapons and Swirlix got them food. Bunnelby got them some gemstones from various digging he had done while Dedenne and Jirachi both got them a new model of the Expedition Gadget. Amaranth gave Light various medicinal herbs and gave Fennix a book on what they are and how to use them. The only other person who got something from Amaranth was Deerling. Finally, Carracosta got them a portrait he commissioned of Mew, Light when he was a human, and all their old companions. Light took special notice of the human in the picture, as it was always odd to see himself back in his old form.

There was one final present Light saw, this one addressed to him with no note on the sender. He saved it for last specifically because he wanted to focus on the gifts from Pokémon there first. But now that he was done, he decided to look at that present. He opened it up to find a small cardboard box with a note attached to it. Light picked up the note and read it.

"_Hey Light. Sorry I'm not there giving this to you in person. I wanted to be, honest. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. Right now you're probably out there having fun with your friends, and I wouldn't want to ruin that by making it awkward. That's always what happens when I'm around._

"_Someday, I promise I'll make right by you. And when that day comes, I hope I'll be able to make up for being absent that year. Until then, just so you know that I didn't forget ya or anything, here's a gift from me. I hope you like it, it took a lot of work from me and the Beheeyem to get it done._

"_Nuzleaf._

"_PS: Mew did convince me to watch the play at the very least. You did good out there Light. You and that Fennix, you'll go places together. I just know it."_

Light placed the note down and looked at the box. He quickly opened it up to see what was inside. Sitting inside the box was a figurine set of Light, Fennix, and the rest of the children from Serene Village. They were all small, none of them were larger than five inches, but they each had such delicate hand-crafted the figurine for Light and Fennix both had their Harmony Scarves to on it.

"What'd you get, Light?" Fennix asked. She glanced at the figurine set before her eyes widened in surprise. "Woah! That's really good. Did Nuzleaf make that?"

"That's what the card said," Light answered, his eyes still on them.

Fennix stepped over to take a closer look. "I…tried to get Nuzleaf to actually be here, but I guess I couldn't. Sorry."

"I couldn't either!" Mew announced nonchalantly. "I got him to see the play, but that was it. After that, he wanted me to teleport him back home. He seemed really sad about it. I think he really wanted to come."

Light sighed. "Yeah. Maybe over the next year…maybe I can work to repair our relationship. That way he'll feel welcome next year."

"Still, that is rather expert craftsmanship," Carracosta mused as he looked them over. "I never knew Nuzleaf could do something like that. It's a rather great talent he has budding within him."

"Looks like you'll need a shelf for that," Ampharos said. "Luckily, I had the foresight to make one for your room before today!" And as if to emphasize that point, he posed.

"Then let's get our stuff in our room already!" Fennix cheered.

"You all better make sure to clean up in here afterwards!" Dedenne warned.

So the packages were cleaned up and the figurines were brought to the room and placed on the shelf. They were all placed side-by-side, while the picture from Carracosta was placed right above the shelf, the past and present visible together. Before going to sleep, Light looked over the two gifts and reaffirmed his hope that next year, Nuzleaf might have his wish and be able to join them.

* * *

**AN**:Considering this is supposed to be an obvious Christmas parody, this is a little late. By about a year, actually. Yeah, I started this about a year ago but never finished it. And then I started it back up again and missed Christmas again. But at this point I decided to just keep going and finish it. It's still...sorta the holidays? So it counts, right?

*Goes in the corner and weeps at my lastness*

Hope you all had a Happy Holidays and enjoy the new year as much as possible. Here's to 2020.


End file.
